Deputy Sheriff Is Reinstated in Prince George's

The president of the Prince George's deputy sheriff's association, suspended two weeks ago for allegedly photocopying and releasing to the press a letter from Sheriff Don Ansell to the head of the county's delegation in Annapolis, was reinstated Thursday with all charges dropped.

The letter that was allegedly purloined from Ansell's files described the sheriff's proposals for creating a new corrections department and his decision, meanwhile, to discontinue police training of deputy sheriffs.

Hubbard has acknowledged making the letter available to reporters but denied he got it from Ansell's office.

Charges were dropped against Hubbard. Ansell said, because "the deputy sheriff who made the initial complaint made a false statement. He is being terminated today. We exonerated Hubbard."

Ansell said Hubbard obtained the letter from someone who legitimately had a copy. "He came about the letter legally and properly" and was free to release it, said Ansel.

Ansell said he and Hubbard had a 90-minute discussion Thursday and "got quite a few things" ironed out. "It's kind of opened the door for regular meetings between the associaton and the sheriff," said Hubbard. The association claims that the allegiance of 150 of the county's 260 deputy sheriffs.